Remarks by Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis at the Global Entrepreneurship Week’s “Trendsetting Gala”

Hilton Hotel Budapest | November 18, 2011

Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics, FIVOSZ,  President Patrik Kovacs, Distinguished Guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to be speaking to you tonight at this gala, the closing ceremony of the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Week here in Hungary. It is an honor to be here on such a momentous occasion and to celebrate the many achievements and successes you had during this week.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest event for innovators who launch businesses that bring new ideas to life, drive economic growth, and improve our quality of living. And it couldn’t have started at a better time – when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2009, she said fostering growth is what the world needs in this difficult period of economic recovery. She also said that efforts such as these build new businesses and opportunities that can drive economic growth around the world. That message is still true today, which is why President Obama declared November 2011 “National Entrepreneurship Month,” and recognized the role Global Entrepreneurship Week plays in helping startups succeed.

In that vein, I would like to extend a warm thank you to FIVOSZ for hosting tonight’s gala and organizing the fantastic events of this past week; and to their U.S. partners the Kauffman Foundation, who, together with an organization called Entrepreneurship UK, had the vision to found the first Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2008.

As the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary for nearly 2 years, I have really enjoyed learning about Hungary’s traditions, history, and values.  Its record in innovation and contributions to advancements in science and technology are truly impressive. Last night, I had dinner with Ernő Rubik at my residence, along with participants in the Science and Technology conference currently going on here in Budapest.  We amused ourselves by debating which was more ubiquitous:  Rubik’s cube, or the ball point pen, invented by Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro.  Hungarians have had a hand in the invention, discovery and design of countless technologies such as the helicopter, electric transformers, holography, stereo, vitamin C, computers, and even our own Ford Model T.    And as we know some of these inventions were made in the United States or in cooperation with other Americans.

For a long time, the United States has recognized that innovation and entrepreneurs have the power to expand the economy and generate job growth.  We are proud of our tradition of entrepreneurship; when asked, 40% of Americans aged eight to twenty-one say they hope to start their own business one day. American entrepreneurs created 565,000 new businesses a month in 2010, and small businesses employ over half of all private sector workers in the U.S. 

Over the course of history, entrepreneurs have shown that the pursuit of a new concept or innovation can revolutionize societies, create entire industries, and advance humankind by leaps and bounds.

However, entrepreneurship and innovation don’t happen in a vacuum. To succeed, entrepreneurs need favorable conditions to work their magic – such as a stable and predictable regulatory environment, a fair and level playing field in which to operate, protections for their intellectual property and assets, and a well-functioning, transparent, and non-partial legal system they can turn to when disputes arise.

Entrepreneurs are savvy; they can and do forecast all kinds of market risks when they make investment and business decisions. But ad-hoc changes and opaque systems are hard to assess and can threaten the ability of startups to survive. That’s where governments can play a key role, and that’s where the U.S. can help. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we can share best practices and our knowledge to contribute to Hungary’s successes.  For it to be possible, feasible, and worthwhile for individuals to realize their goals in business, it is vital that bureaucratic hurdles be reduced to a minimum, red tape cut, and consistency and transparency increased so that individual initiatives can flourish.

The U.S. Embassy in Hungary is working to provide support to Hungarian entrepreneurs on individual, organizational and international levels.  In the past year alone, we have supported Hungarian participants on International Visitor Leadership Programs to the United States focused on small business development, women, and entrepeneurship. We see value in our partnership, which is why we provided grants to FIVOSZ and its partner, the Entrepreneurship Foundation Hungary, in support of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and we have funded a Fulbright Scholarship in entrepreneurship.

We have also worked closely with Deputy Prime Minister Navracsics in his efforts to battle corruption and increase transparency.   Last month we co-sponsored a seminar on government ethics, which included presentations by the Acting Director of the U.S. Government Ethics Office, Don Fox.  Just following the conference, a group of Hungarian inspectors general travelled to the United States to meet with their U.S. counterparts.  Mr. Fox was extremely impressed, and praised the Hungarian anti-corruption efforts as serious and committed.  I was honored to have been invited by Minister Navracsics to witness this morning’s signing of the Declaration of Cooperation in the Fight against corruption. 

The United States is also supporting the leadership of Hungarian entrepreneurs in the region and around the globe. That is why we have worked with Hungarian members of the Kairos Summit, a student-run non-profit group that seeks to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across borders, as they hosted their first Central European conference this week. 

Lastly, we are proud to sponsor the participation of one of FIVOSZ’s own members at the second Global Entrepreneurship Summit’s youth meeting, happening in Istanbul, Turkey in December, as the official follow-on event to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by President Obama in April 2010. Lenke Illessy is a young designer and an entrepreneur whose business, Ille-olla, is a design company producing and distributing cutting edge jackets and accessories. Customers can go online (Ille-olla web site  -- they’re also on Facebook!) and create their own unique fashion statement -- a personalized ille-olla jacket. In Istanbul, Lenke will have the opportunity to share her product and business plan and will talk with other young entrepreneurs from around the world about the process of starting their own businesses.

So, today, at the closing ceremony of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we applaud your efforts, salute your achievements, and pledge to continue to work together so that entrepreneurs, no matter where they are from, can succeed.

Thank you very much.